‘Mental’: Thomas Frank defends Arsenal 25-year-old star, says he will get ‘better and better’
Thomas Frank has come to the defense of Gabriel Magalhaes for his performance in Arsenal’s 2-2 draw with West Ham United on Sunday, acknowledging that football can be a “mental” game.
Although Gabriel Magalhaes gave away a penalty after Thomas Partey lost possession to Declan Rice and occasionally resorted to booting the ball forward when playing out from the back, rather than maintaining a “calm” and “composed” demeanor, the Brentford boss praised the Arsenal center-back as a “great” player who will continue to improve, despite having a forgettable game against the Hammers.
Arsenal performed decently against David Moyes’ team at scores of 0-0, 1-0, and 2-0, but then they became complacent and were subsequently penalized.
It was at this point that Said Benrahma scored from the penalty spot, West Ham scored a goal, and the pressure on Arsenal’s players became evident to everyone.
Gabriel was criticized for displaying panicked behavior during the game, but Thomas Frank remarked that such unpredictable situations are just part of the game of football, as he expressed to The Final Word on Premier League Productions (17/04/23 at 10:45 pm).
“It’s interesting because he’s a great player,” said Frank. “We have played them twice and I think he is a fantastic centre-back. I think he will get better and better.
“In other games, he would just chest it down calm and composed. Football is so mental in confidence and in games. How it can change. It can happen to everyone.”
Arsenal’s problem is that they have failed to maintain the level of performance that earned them their position at the top of the table in the opening half-hour of their last two games.
Once they concede a goal, the pressure appears to mount, which has resulted in a few weeks of demoralizing outcomes for the team.
Nevertheless, their destiny is still in their own hands, and if they manage to avoid losing at the Etihad and win their remaining games, they will be crowned as the champions of England.
‘Mental’: Thomas Frank defends Arsenal 25-year-old star, says he will get ‘better and better’
